Stop Online Piracy Act
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), known in the United States Senate as the Protect IP Act (PIPA), is a bill currently going through the legislative process in the United States House of Representatives. The bill, introduced by Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), deals with the ability of law enforcement and copyright holders to combat the posting of intellectual property and counterfeit goods on the internet. Proponents of the legislation aim to combat online piracy, protect the intellectual property rights of copyright holders, and protect jobs that are claimed to be affected by a loss in revenue due to online piracy. Opponents, however, charge that the bill is aimed at repealing the notice and takedown provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the law currently governing copyrighted material on the internet. As of November 16, 2011, the House Judiciary Committee has held a hearing on the legislation. The legislation Those involved Major proponents The Stop Online Piracy Act was introduced into the House of Representatives by Representative Lamar Smith, a Republican who represents Texas's 21st congressional district. The following twenty-four (24) House members, consisting of fourteen (14) Republicans and ten (10) Democrats, have co-sponsored the legislation. *Mark Amodei (R-NV) *John Barrow (D-GA) *Karen Bass (D-CA) *Howard Berman (D-CA) *Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) *Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) *John Carter (R-TX) *Steven Chabot (R-OH) *John Conyers (D-MI) *Ted Deutch (D-FL) *Elton Gallegly (R-CA) *Robert Goodlatte (R-VA) *Tim Griffin (R-AR) *Peter King (R-NY) *Ben Luján (D-NM) *Thomas Marino (R-PA) *Alan Nunnelee (R-MS) *William Owens (D-NY) *Dennis Ross (R-FL) *Steve Scalise (R-LA) *Adam Schiff (D-CA) *Lee Terry (R-NE) *Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) (also the Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee) *Melvin Watt (D-NC) The following thirty-nine (39) Senate members, consisting of twenty-two (22) Democrats, sixteen (16) Republicans, and one (1) independent, have co-sponsored the Protect IP Act, the Senate version of the bill: *Lamar Alexander (R-TN) *Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) *Michael Bennet (D-CO) *Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) *Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) *Roy Blunt (R-MO) *John Boozman (R-AR) *Sherrod Brown (D-OH) *Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) *Robert Casey (D-PA) *Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) *Thad Cochran (R-MS) *Chris Coons (D-DE) *Bob Corker (R-TN) *Richard Durbin (D-IL) *Michael Enzi (R-WY) *Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) *Al Franken (D-MN) *Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) *Lindsey Graham (R-SC) *Charles Grassley (R-IA) *Kay Hagan (D-NC) *Orrin Hatch (R-UT) *John Isakson (R-GA) *Tim Johnson (D-SD) *Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) *Herbert Kohl (D-WI) *Mary Landrieu (D-LA) *Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) *John McCain (R-AZ) *Robert Menéndez (D-NJ) *Bill Nelson (D-FL) *James Risch (R-ID) *Marco Rubio (R-FL) *Charles Schumer (D-NY) *Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) *Tom Udall (D-NM) *David Vitter (R-LA) *Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) The entertainment and music industries support the passage of the Stop Online Piracy Act. Organizations that support it include the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry of America, Netflix, and a number of other companies and unions within the industries. The United States Chamber of Commerce and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) also support the bill's passage. Major opponents Citing concerns about how it will impact technology companies, a number of companies in the technology industry have come out in opposition to the bill. These companies include Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, eBay, and the Wikimedia Foundation, as well as organizations such as the Brookings Institution, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). A number of libertarian groups have also come out in opposition to the legislation. Viewpoints Support Republican and Democratic representatives have stated that new laws are needed to help media outlets, software developers, and content retailers, curb the continuation of online piracy, which is the illegal distribution of copyrighted media over the internet.SOPA, controversial online piracy bill, gains support as lobbying intensifies on The Washington Post Opposition Current status Notes and references Category:Stop Online Piracy Act